The 100 best footballers in 25 years - page 2 - I love number 10

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80. Samuel Eto’o

“I devour football. I don’t go out. I will ask my brother to prepare hundreds of videos on the precise aspects of Barcelona’s attacking game, as I want to know everything my team-mates are thinking. It’s my unseen training. For example, Messi always wants the ball inside because he never goes outside.” FFT 153 (May 2007)

79. Manuel Neuer

“We’re closely linked because of that goal at the 2010 World Cup. I bumped into him on holiday and we joked about it by the pool. He’s fantastic, good with his feet, but it’s the size of him: I took a penalty against him in the 2012 Champions League Final and he seemed to fill the goal.” Frank Lampard, FFT 289

78. Eden Hazard

For too long, the buzzcut Belgian with the unshakeable balance was the only world-class performer at Stamford Bridge. Drifting through the melee like a fox in a graveyard, he gave Chelsea seven seasons and won two league titles. Now, in Real Madrid, he has the platform to shine before his Ballon d’Or window closes.

77. Wesley Sneijder

Still oozing class in Qatar, Holland’s most-capped player was one of the world’s best midfielders – man of the match in six of the Dutch’s 11 games at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. Versatile and ambidextrous, Sneijder has won over a dozen trophies in five countries – most memorably Inter’s 2010 treble.

76. Jurgen Klinsmann

Just as FourFourTwo drew its first breath in the summer of 1994, Klinsi was busy proving that the Germans do have a sense of humour, marking his first goal (on debut) at Sheffield Wednesday with a dive celebration. The Beetle-driving Klinsmann sniffed out goals for fun and was among the Premier League’s first imports with genuine stardust. Not that Alan Sugar liked it.

ACTION REPLAY Jurgen Klinsmann at Tottenham, 25 years on: dives, Maradona – and nearly dying

75. David Trezeguet

Only Alessandro Del Piero, Giampiero Boniperti and Roberto Bettega scored more for Juve, and the latter two lingered much longer with the Old Lady. Trezegol’s Euro 2000-winning Golden Goal was one of 300 bagged across 22 countries by the opportunist French-Argentine, including one at Old Trafford clocked at a mere 97.6mph. Marksman.

74. Christian Vieri

“‘Bobo’ was one of Europe’s best strikers during his playing career. He was never afraid to work hard to score his goals. He was great with his head and was very strong on the ball and in the box.” Alessandro Nesta, FFT 223

73. John Terry

“The first time I saw John he was out on the training pitch practising 35-yard passes, long after the rest of the squad had disappeared. He wanted to better himself and he couldn’t get enough of the game.” Ray Wilkins, FFT 129

72. Michael Owen

He’s no fantasy dinner guest, but then Stephen Fry doesn’t score many goals. Until his hamstrings pinged, Owen combined unbelievable speed with unflappable finishing to break records. At France 98, Argentina suffered the ur-Owen goal: send it long and watch him fly.

BETWEEN THE LINES Michael Owen: “After France '98, I’d get home at 1pm every day and sit there until 11pm replying to mail"

71. Deco

A pantomime villain to some for his Machiavellian tactical fouls, Deco was nevertheless a sublimely gifted operative. Brazilian-born and blessed with Seleção skills, he was Porto’s pivot – full of vision – as they won the Champions League, before excelling alongside Ronaldinho at Barcelona and winning it again. Nice.

70. Claude Makelele

You’ve got to be handy to have an entire position named after you. The Frenchman redefined how we thought about defensive midfielders, acting as a human shield in front of defence. Hardly anyone has done it better since big Claude’s imperious mid-noughties spell at Chelsea.

RANKED! The 10 best central midfielders in Premier League history

69. Hristo Stoichkov

“He could change the course of a game at any given moment, thanks to his force of character as much as his ability. So unpredictable. He had a great left foot, and as a lefty myself I couldn’t help but admire his skills.” Emmanuel Petit, FFT 168 (August 2008)

68. Michael Ballack

“He got into the German national team at a young age and became a top player with Bayern Munich and Chelsea. He’s a complete player, and the best German player of his generation.” Christian Ziege, FFT 185 (January 2010)

67. Thomas Muller

“Ich bin ein Raumdeuter,” said the Bayern man when asked to explain his role: “I am a space investigator”. Indeed he is. Making space and exploiting threatening areas is what the Neil Armstrong of the game thrived at. In terms of football intelligence, awareness and leadership, there have been few better.

66. Sergio Aguero

Say what you like about the peroxide barnet: the Argentine has a case to being the Premier League’s most underrated player. A natural-born predator whose backside could crack a Brazil nut, Aguero has averaged 0.68 goals a game in all competitions for Manchester City – a scarcely credible figure for a player who has only been in two Premier League teams of the year.

65. David Silva

Noel Gallagher’s declaration that he’d let him spend a night with his wife sums up how Manchester City fans feel about the Spaniard. He’s effective in a way that can’t be expressed with stats: suffice to say that few others can use a yard of space better, and that Silva has been the soul of the greatest ever Premier League XI.

64. Juan Sebastian Veron

“The driving force behind Lazio’s Scudetto season in 1999/2000. He’s one of the most accomplished players of all time. Most notably, Seba’s technique both with and without the ball was simply one of the best.” Alessandro Nesta, FFT 223

63. Bastian Schweinsteiger

Now winding down his career as a calm centre-back for Chicago Fire, ‘Basti’ will always be remembered as a central midfield commander who bossed proceedings with defensive steel, peerless distribution, real guile and a German-made engine – which all came together in the 2014 World Cup Final.

62. Dani Alves

“A player of the highest quality. He never panics. Alves has had success at Sevilla, but he will move to a bigger club. He’s very fast, and while everyone knows he gets forward, he gets back just as quickly. Exceptionally skilful; he’s the new Cafu.” Samuel Eto’o, FFT 167 (July 2008)

BIG INTERVIEW Dani Alves on Pep, Barça and being part of something special

61. Edwin van der Sar

“Goalies are supposed to be crazy, but it’s not true with this guy. His mind was always straight. He made so many saves for us at Ajax – he won us 10-15 points a season. I bet Alex Ferguson wishes he could have had him for longer.” Ronald de Boer, FFT 192 (July 2010)

BIG INTERVIEW Edwin van der Sar - "After I'd pushed away Anelka's penalty, I felt like I was separated from the world for a couple of seconds"

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